Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725M); Comment Request; Extension, 8278-8279 [2020-02895]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 30 / Thursday, February 13, 2020 / Notices
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notification of these filings, document
summaries, and direct links to the
documents. Go to https://www.ferc.gov/
docs-filing/esubscription.asp.
Dated: February 7, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020–02902 Filed 2–12–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. AD20–7–000]
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Reliability Technical Conference;
Notice of Technical Conference
Take notice that the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (Commission)
will hold a Technical Conference on
Thursday, June 25, 2020, from 9:00 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. This Commissioner-led
conference will be held in the
Commission Meeting Room at the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC
20426. The purpose of the conference is
to discuss policy issues related to the
reliability of the Bulk-Power System.
The Commission will issue an agenda at
a later date in a supplemental notice.
The conference will be open for the
public to attend. There is no fee for
attendance. However, members of the
public are encouraged to preregister
online at: https://www.ferc.gov/whatsnew/registration/06-25-20-form.asp.
This conference will focus on
reliability-related issues for the bulk
power system, including: (1) The
changing resource mix; (2) inverterbased resources and inverter-connected
distributed energy resources; and (3)
cybersecurity. Those wishing to be
considered for participation in panel
discussions should submit nominations
no later than close of business on March
27, 2020 online at: https://www.ferc.gov/
whats-new/registration/06-25-20speaker-form.asp.
Information on this event will be
posted on the Calendar of Events on the
Commission’s website, https://
www.ferc.gov, prior to the event. The
conference will also be webcast and
transcribed. Anyone with internet
access who desires to listen to this event
can do so by navigating to the Calendar
of Events at https://www.ferc.gov and
locating this event in the Calendar. The
event will contain a link to the webcast.
The Capitol Connection provides
technical support for webcasts and
offers the option of listening to the
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meeting via phone-bridge for a fee. If
you have any questions, visit https://
www.CapitolConnection.org or call (703)
993–3100. Transcripts of the technical
conference will be available for a fee
from Ace-Federal Reporters, Inc. at (202)
347–3700.
Commission conferences are
accessible under section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For
accessibility accommodations, please
send an email to accessibility@ferc.gov
or call toll free 1 (866) 208–3372 (voice)
or (202) 502–8659 (TTY), or send a fax
to (202) 208–2106 with the required
accommodations.
For more information about this
technical conference, please contact
Lodie White (202) 502–8453,
Lodie.White@ferc.gov. For information
related to logistics, please contact Sarah
McKinley at (202) 502–8368,
Sarah.Mckinley@ferc.gov.
Dated: February 3, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020–02897 Filed 2–12–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. IC19–32–000]
Commission Information Collection
Activities (FERC–725M); Comment
Request; Extension
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of information collection
and request for comments.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission
(Commission or FERC) is soliciting
public comment on the currently
approved information collection, FERC–
725M (Mandatory Reliability Standards:
Generator Requirements at the
Transmission Interface) and submitting
the information collection to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review. Any interested person may file
comments directly with OMB and
should address a copy of those
comments to the Commission as
explained below.
DATES: Comments on the collection of
information are due by March 16, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB,
identified by the OMB Control No.
1902–0263, should be sent via email to
the Office of Information and Regulatory
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00034
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Affairs: oira_submission@omb.gov.
Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission Desk Officer.
A copy of the comments should also
be sent to the Commission, in Docket
No. IC19–32–000, by either of the
following methods:
• eFiling at Commission’s Website:
https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/
efiling.asp.
• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier:
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
Secretary of the Commission, 888 First
Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
Instructions: All submissions must be
formatted and filed in accordance with
submission guidelines at: https://
www.ferc.gov/help/submissionguide.asp. For user assistance contact
FERC Online Support by email at
ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or by phone
at: (866) 208–3676 (toll-free), or (202)
502–8659 for TTY.
Docket: Users interested in receiving
automatic notification of activity in this
docket or in viewing/downloading
comments and issuances in this docket
may do so at https://www.ferc.gov/docsfiling/docs-filing.asp.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ellen Brown may be reached by email
at DataClearance@FERC.gov, by
telephone at (202) 502–8663, and by fax
at (202) 273–0873.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: FERC–725M (Mandatory
Reliability Standards: Generator
Requirements at the Transmission
Interface).
OMB Control No.: 1902–0263.
Type of Request: Three-year extension
of the FERC–725M with no updates to
the current reporting requirements.
Abstract: On August 27, 2019, the
Commission published a Notice in the
Federal Register in Docket No. IC19–
32–000 requesting public comments.
The Commission received no comments
and noting that in the related submittal
to OMB.
On September 19, 2013, the
Commission issued Order No. 785,
Docket No. RM12–16–000, a Final Rule 1
approving modifications to four existing
Reliability Standards submitted by the
North American Electric Reliability
Corporation (NERC), the Commission
certified Electric Reliability
Organization. Specifically, the
Commission approved Reliability
Standards FAC–001–1 (Facility
Connection Requirements), FAC–003–3
(Transmission Vegetation Management),
PRC–004–2.1a (Analysis and Mitigation
of Transmission and Generation
Protection System Misoperations), and
1 Generator Requirements at the Transmission
Interface, 144 FERC ¶ 61,221 (2013).
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 30 / Thursday, February 13, 2020 / Notices
PRC–005–1.1b (Transmission and
Generation Protection System
Maintenance and Testing).2 The
modifications improved reliability
either by extending applicability of the
Reliability Standard to certain generator
interconnection facilities, or by
clarifying that the existing Reliability
Standard is and remains applicable to
generator interconnection facilities.
On April 26, 2016, a Delegated Letter
Order was issued, Docket No. RD16–4–
000, approving proposed Reliability
Standard FAC–003–4 (Transmission
Vegetation Management). Reliability
Standard FAC–003–4 reflected revisions
to the current Minimum Vegetation
Clearance Distances (MVCDs) in
Reliability Standard FAC–003–3 based
on additional testing regarding the
appropriate gap factor to be used to
calculate clearance distances for
vegetation. NERC explained that
Reliability Standard FAC–003–4
includes higher and more conservative
MVCD values and, therefore,
maintained that these revisions would
enhance reliability and provide
additional confidence by applying a
more conservative approach to
determining the vegetation clearing
distances. In FERC–725M we are:
(1) Adjusting the burden in FAC–003–
4 to reflect the latest number of
applicable entities based on the NERC
Compliance Registry as of July 26, 2019.
(2) Making a program change to
administratively remove all one-time
burden 3 that is being inadvertently
counted in FERC–725M and FERC–
725D.
Type of Respondents: Transmission
Owner (TO); Generator Owner (GO); and
Regional Entity (RE).
Estimate of Annual Burden.4 The
Commission estimates the annual public
reporting burden and cost 5 for the
information collection as:
FERC–725M, MANDATORY RELIABILITY STANDARDS: FAC–003–4 (TRANSMISSION VEGETATION MANAGEMENT
Number of
respondents 6
Annual
number of
responses
per
respondent
Total number
of responses
Average
burden hours
& cost per
response
Total annual
burden hours
& total annual
cost
Cost per
respondent
(1)
(2)
(1)*(2) = ( 3)
(4)
(3)*(4) = (5)
($) (5) ÷ (1)
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
FAC–003–4 (Transmission Vegetation Management)
Generator Owners, Regional Entities:
Quarterly Reporting (Compliance 1.4).
Generator Owners: Annual Veg. inspect.
Doc. (M6); Work Plan (M7); Evidence of
Mgt. of Veg. (M1 & M2); Confirmed Veg.
Condition (M4); & Corrective Action
(M5).
Generator Owners, Transmission Owners:
Record Retention (Compliance 1.2).
101 7
4
404
95
1
95
423
1
TOTAL .................................................
........................
........................
0.25 hrs.;
$17.00.
2 hrs.;
$136.00.
101 hrs.;
$6,868.00.
190 hrs.;
$12,920.00.
$68.00
423
1 hr.; $68.00
423 hrs.;
$28,764.00.
68.00
922
.......................
714 hrs.:
$48,552.00.
272.00
136.00
Comments: Comments are invited on:
(1) Whether the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
Commission, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(2) the accuracy of the agency’s
estimates of the burden and cost of the
collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and
assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility and clarity of the
information collection; and (4) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to
respond, including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Dated: February 3, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
2 The burden is included in information
collection FERC–725M.
The burdens related to previous versions of
Reliability Standards mentioned in the Final Rule:
FAC–001–0 (Facility Connection Requirements);
FAC–003–2 (Transmission Vegetation
Management); PRC–004–2a (Analysis and
Mitigation of Transmission and Generation
Protection System Misoperations); and PRC–005–1b
(Transmission and Generation Protection System
Maintenance and Testing) are included in FERC–
725A (Mandatory Reliability Standards for the
Bulk-Power System, OMB Control No. 1902–0244).
The Final Rule states the modifications included
in PRC–004–2.1a and PRC–005–1.1b are
clarifications of existing requirements, do not
extend those existing requirements to any new
entity or to additional facilities, and do not affect
the existing burden related to those standards.
3 One-time burden is typically performed in the
first year of implementation. All burden associated
with FAC–001–3 in this collection was removed in
2015. The burden in FAC–001–3 was transferred in
2015 to FERC–725D (OMB Control Number 1902–
0247).
See the November 6, 2014 Delegated Letter Order,
Docket No. RD14–12–000, approving Reliability
Standard FAC–001–2 and Order No. 836, Balancing
Authority Control, Inadvertent Interchange, and
Facility Interconnection Reliability Standards, 160
FERC ¶ 61,070 (2017), approving Reliability
Standard FAC–001–3.
4 Burden is defined as the total time, effort, or
financial resources expended by persons to
generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide
information to or for a federal agency. See 5 CFR
1320 for additional information on the definition of
information collection burden.
5 The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits)
are based on the figures for May 2018 posted by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Utilities sector
(available at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_
22.htm) and updated March 2019 for benefits
information (at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/
ecec.nr0.htm). The hourly estimates for salary plus
benefits are:
—Manager (code 11–0000), $95.24
—Information and Records Clerks (code 43–
4199), $40.84
—Electrical Engineer (code 17–2071), $68.17
The average hourly burden cost for this collection
is $68.08 [($95.24 + $40.84 + $68.17)/3 = $68.08)]
and is rounded to $68.00 an hour.
6 According to the NERC Compliance Registry as
of July 26, 2019, there are 946 generator owners and
328 transmission owners registered in North
America. We estimate that approximately 10
percent (or 95) of these generator owners have
interconnection facilities that are applicable to the
standard.
7 The estimated number of respondents (101)
includes 95 generator owners and 6 Regional
Entities.
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[FR Doc. 2020–02895 Filed 2–12–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 30 (Thursday, February 13, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8278-8279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02895]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC19-32-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725M); Comment
Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or
FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved
information collection, FERC-725M (Mandatory Reliability Standards:
Generator Requirements at the Transmission Interface) and submitting
the information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review. Any interested person may file comments directly with OMB
and should address a copy of those comments to the Commission as
explained below.
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by March 16,
2020.
ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by the OMB Control No.
1902-0263, should be sent via email to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs: [email protected]. Attention: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission Desk Officer.
A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Commission, in
Docket No. IC19-32-000, by either of the following methods:
eFiling at Commission's Website: https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp.
Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20426.
Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in
accordance with submission guidelines at: https://www.ferc.gov/help/submission-guide.asp. For user assistance contact FERC Online Support
by email at [email protected], or by phone at: (866) 208-3676
(toll-free), or (202) 502-8659 for TTY.
Docket: Users interested in receiving automatic notification of
activity in this docket or in viewing/downloading comments and
issuances in this docket may do so at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asp.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by email at
[email protected], by telephone at (202) 502-8663, and by fax at
(202) 273-0873.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: FERC-725M (Mandatory Reliability Standards: Generator
Requirements at the Transmission Interface).
OMB Control No.: 1902-0263.
Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-725M with no
updates to the current reporting requirements.
Abstract: On August 27, 2019, the Commission published a Notice in
the Federal Register in Docket No. IC19-32-000 requesting public
comments. The Commission received no comments and noting that in the
related submittal to OMB.
On September 19, 2013, the Commission issued Order No. 785, Docket
No. RM12-16-000, a Final Rule \1\ approving modifications to four
existing Reliability Standards submitted by the North American Electric
Reliability Corporation (NERC), the Commission certified Electric
Reliability Organization. Specifically, the Commission approved
Reliability Standards FAC-001-1 (Facility Connection Requirements),
FAC-003-3 (Transmission Vegetation Management), PRC-004-2.1a (Analysis
and Mitigation of Transmission and Generation Protection System
Misoperations), and
[[Page 8279]]
PRC-005-1.1b (Transmission and Generation Protection System Maintenance
and Testing).\2\ The modifications improved reliability either by
extending applicability of the Reliability Standard to certain
generator interconnection facilities, or by clarifying that the
existing Reliability Standard is and remains applicable to generator
interconnection facilities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Generator Requirements at the Transmission Interface, 144
FERC ] 61,221 (2013).
\2\ The burden is included in information collection FERC-725M.
The burdens related to previous versions of Reliability
Standards mentioned in the Final Rule: FAC-001-0 (Facility
Connection Requirements); FAC-003-2 (Transmission Vegetation
Management); PRC-004-2a (Analysis and Mitigation of Transmission and
Generation Protection System Misoperations); and PRC-005-1b
(Transmission and Generation Protection System Maintenance and
Testing) are included in FERC-725A (Mandatory Reliability Standards
for the Bulk-Power System, OMB Control No. 1902-0244).
The Final Rule states the modifications included in PRC-004-2.1a
and PRC-005-1.1b are clarifications of existing requirements, do not
extend those existing requirements to any new entity or to
additional facilities, and do not affect the existing burden related
to those standards.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On April 26, 2016, a Delegated Letter Order was issued, Docket No.
RD16-4-000, approving proposed Reliability Standard FAC-003-4
(Transmission Vegetation Management). Reliability Standard FAC-003-4
reflected revisions to the current Minimum Vegetation Clearance
Distances (MVCDs) in Reliability Standard FAC-003-3 based on additional
testing regarding the appropriate gap factor to be used to calculate
clearance distances for vegetation. NERC explained that Reliability
Standard FAC-003-4 includes higher and more conservative MVCD values
and, therefore, maintained that these revisions would enhance
reliability and provide additional confidence by applying a more
conservative approach to determining the vegetation clearing distances.
In FERC-725M we are:
(1) Adjusting the burden in FAC-003-4 to reflect the latest number
of applicable entities based on the NERC Compliance Registry as of July
26, 2019.
(2) Making a program change to administratively remove all one-time
burden \3\ that is being inadvertently counted in FERC-725M and FERC-
725D.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ One-time burden is typically performed in the first year of
implementation. All burden associated with FAC-001-3 in this
collection was removed in 2015. The burden in FAC-001-3 was
transferred in 2015 to FERC-725D (OMB Control Number 1902-0247).
See the November 6, 2014 Delegated Letter Order, Docket No.
RD14-12-000, approving Reliability Standard FAC-001-2 and Order No.
836, Balancing Authority Control, Inadvertent Interchange, and
Facility Interconnection Reliability Standards, 160 FERC ] 61,070
(2017), approving Reliability Standard FAC-001-3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of Respondents: Transmission Owner (TO); Generator Owner (GO);
and Regional Entity (RE).
Estimate of Annual Burden.\4\ The Commission estimates the annual
public reporting burden and cost \5\ for the information collection as:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Burden is defined as the total time, effort, or financial
resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or
disclose or provide information to or for a federal agency. See 5
CFR 1320 for additional information on the definition of information
collection burden.
\5\ The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits) are based
on the figures for May 2018 posted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
for the Utilities sector (available at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm) and updated March 2019 for benefits
information (at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm). The
hourly estimates for salary plus benefits are:
--Manager (code 11-0000), $95.24
--Information and Records Clerks (code 43-4199), $40.84
--Electrical Engineer (code 17-2071), $68.17
The average hourly burden cost for this collection is $68.08
[($95.24 + $40.84 + $68.17)/3 = $68.08)] and is rounded to $68.00 an
hour.
FERC-725M, Mandatory Reliability Standards: FAC-003-4 (Transmission Vegetation Management
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Annual number Total annual burden
respondents of responses Total number Average burden hours & hours & total annual Cost per
\6\ per respondent of responses cost per response cost respondent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) (2) (1)*(2) = ( 3) (4)..................... (3)*(4) = (5).......... ($) (5) / (1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAC-003-4 (Transmission Vegetation Management)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Generator Owners, Regional Entities: 101 \7\ 4 404 0.25 hrs.; $17.00....... 101 hrs.; $6,868.00.... $68.00
Quarterly Reporting (Compliance 1.4).
Generator Owners: Annual Veg. 95 1 95 2 hrs.; $136.00......... 190 hrs.; $12,920.00... 136.00
inspect. Doc. (M6); Work Plan (M7);
Evidence of Mgt. of Veg. (M1 & M2);
Confirmed Veg. Condition (M4); &
Corrective Action (M5).
Generator Owners, Transmission 423 1 423 1 hr.; $68.00........... 423 hrs.; $28,764.00... 68.00
Owners: Record Retention (Compliance
1.2).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL............................ .............. .............. 922 ........................ 714 hrs.: $48,552.00... 272.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the Commission, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ According to the NERC Compliance Registry as of July 26,
2019, there are 946 generator owners and 328 transmission owners
registered in North America. We estimate that approximately 10
percent (or 95) of these generator owners have interconnection
facilities that are applicable to the standard.
\7\ The estimated number of respondents (101) includes 95
generator owners and 6 Regional Entities.
Dated: February 3, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-02895 Filed 2-12-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
